the champion ... again

Would you look at that? After a very long day with a LOT of rain forcing us indoors, Max emerged triumphant once again, becoming only the second Jeffirs to be a two-time winner of a coveted pig. (Kelsey was the first.)

This year, Max was paired with Maria, and they each played to their strengths: Max did the Speed Eraser (flipping a pencil off a table into a cup) and Mr. President (writing down the first and last names of the presidents) events, while Maria did Sticky Table (a marble rolling game) and Time Tables (solving grade-school math problems). It turns out that Max is REALLY good at flipping pencils, and got a whopping 37 of them to land in the cup in one minute. 

This was the first year I have competed for a pig, and poor Kelsey absolutely lost her chance at winning when she got paired with me. I did beat Maria head to head in Sticky Table, but aside from that, Kelsey and I ended up pretty much right in the middle of the pack for the final scores.

Liam also made his triumphant return to Jeffirspalooza after the two of us missed last year on account of him being in the hospital and all. He had a prior engagement in the late afternoon, so he was unable to compete in Pigmania, but he had fun talking to people and catching up.

Max and I also managed to scrounge up a deck of cards and my mom, and we proceeded to play several games of euchre with a cast of players who rotated in and out depending on who was needed for pig competition purposes. Alison flew in from DC for the event, and she brought my pal Julie (I'm claiming Julie too, Al, after she did that bike tour in Boston with me last year!), and they were delightful as always, and willing to join us at the euchre table.

All in all, a fun (if exhausting) palooza this year!

liam is 21

Friends, it's a momentous milestone!

Today we celebrate the 21st birthday of the one who made us parents, the one who blazes his path and challenges the others to blaze their own, the one who by definition holds most of our "firsts" as mom and dad ... the one and only Liam.

There aren't enough words for me to say how far beyond proud I am of this young man. From the minute I saw his face for the very first time (solemn, crabby, confused but interested at being thrust into the world) I have had an unshakeable faith in him, and he has exceeded every hope I could have laid out. That's not to say he doesn't make mistakes, that he's never grumpy or snappish, that we never fight — he is and does all those things, but never with real malice. He isn't always nice, but he's almost always kind.

Life has tested him this past year. It's impossibly hard to discover at 20 that your previously mostly perfectly functioning body can just ... go haywire, with long-lasting consequences. And now, nearly a year since he first got sick, you know what Liam has to say? That he is a LUCKY PERSON. He has a small collection of objects that remind him of this: a blue glass bird, an enamel pin, a voodoo doll in the form of a wise wizard. I don't think he really needs the reminders, though. He carries that luck with him everywhere now.

We can't be with him on his big day, but yesterday we all went together to a baseball game and then out for lunch. We talked and laughed, and he opened many lego sets. And today he is planning to take donuts to his fellow interns in the morning, and they will take him out tonight to celebrate his big day. 

Liam, you are lucky. But more than that, you are the luck. We love you so, so much.

moonlight over the tippy 2025: a story in snaps

 Hi! Did you miss me? It's been crazy busy around here. Work has been absolutely bananapants, and some days I barely have enough time to acknowledge that I have a family, let alone do anything that isn't work work work. BUT last night I broke free, and Mike, Henry, and I went for a 20-mile ride on the Panhandle Pathway. Henry is MUCH faster than me, so he rode ahead and told us he would wait at the SAG stop/halfway point for us. (Mike is also much faster than me, but I guess he likes me more than he likes riding fast.) Henry sent me a few snaps along the way, but when he got to the SAG stop, things started getting really interesting. Follow along with us!

First sign of trouble:

Henry immediately follows that up with this text. He's got a score to settle.

At this point, Mike and I are only about a mile away from the SAG stop, and we pass Henry on his return, pedaling like a madman. I try to get a picture but my phone doesn't want to cooperate. In my defense, it can be tricky to take a decent photo while riding 11 mph. Mike and I arrive at the SAG stop, get a drink and some snacks, and I proceed to talk to the many old people in the vicinity. I tell them about Henry's text, then describe Henry and say how nice it would be if they happened to pass him and say hi. Mike and I take a quick selfie, and I fill Liam and Max in on events as they're transpiring.

(I meant to say look "for" him, not "at" him, but I was in a hurry so I didn't have time to consult an editor.)

The whole ride back, I wait excitedly for this text, which finally comes just as we are crossing the Tippecanoe River.

My response:

We arrive at the finish to find Henry sitting at a picnic table with a bunch of old people. I greet him excitedly with, "Hi Henry! Did you make some new friends?" All the old people cheer and congratulate him on a great ride.

I will note that Henry found the whole thing "fairly funny" and does seem willing to ride with us again this season, so I can say with confidence that no Henrys were harmed during this prank.